This is the second part of the Space Challenge activity.
Once a challenge is accepted, students in groups will work as a team to face the challenge in their homes. So, each group will show their work in a video.

Learning Objectives

  • Team work to problem solving
  • Challenge yourself and others to understand what lies behind the new space science challenges
  • Think about challenges that space researchers have faced or are facing
  • Activity allows students to understand which current space challenges are and how researchers are working to achieve the near future aims

Setting Details

This is the second part of the Space Challenge activity.

Students in groups have to take on a space challenge. Working in teams from their own home, or in their classrooms. Once the challenge is accepted, students can work together to solve the problem either online or together in a classroom.

If this activity is conducted online, students will be able to connect from their home or their school classroom using a zoom link or similar, that will be provided to the students and teachers before the event starts.

This activity is carried out over a period of 120 minutes.

Materials needed

First Challenge: The “soft landing”

  • boiled eggs (ones for group)
  • straws
  • scotch tape
  • tissue paper
  • paper
  • twine
  • scissors
  • telephone

Soft landing activity_ing

Second Challenge: Gears and mechanisms

  • cardboard
  • boxes
  • flexible iron wire
  • bottle caps
  • glue
  • skewers
  • small pieces of polystyrene
  • twine
  • scotch tape
  • scissors
  • telephone

Gears and mechanisms_ing

Third Challenge: Growing seeds

  • cotton
  • glass jars
  • legume seeds
  • water
  • telephone

Growing seeds_ing

Script/programme of activity

In this second part, students in groups will explain how they attempted to solve their problem by producing an explainer video.

Students have to explain why they are motivated by the goal of their mission, the sponsor/sponsors of the mission, specific features/ equipment on board their spacecraft to help solve the problem, and the name of the space mission.

Each group will then have to take questions and comments from the other student groups and scientific explainer.

Teacher/educator

Teachers will check that students’ groups are carrying out the challenge and they will collect videos created by the students after they have finished.

If the activity will be online, the zoom link to connect will be sent to the teacher. 

Extra information

For more information contact alfonsi@psiquadro.itÂ